North America: Time for a New Focus

North America: Focus a New Time for The Council on Foreign Relations sponsors Independent Task Forces to assess issues of current and critical importance to U.S. foreign policy and provide policymakers with concrete judgments and recommendations. Diverse in backgrounds and perspectives, Task Force members aim to reach a meaningful consensus on policy through private and nonpartisan deliberations. Once launched, Task Forces are independent of CFR and solely responsible for the content of their reports. Task Force members are asked to join a consensus signifying that they endorse “the general policy thrust and judgments reached by the group, though not necessarily every finding and recommendation.” Each Task Force member also has the option of putting forward an additional or a dissenting view. Members’ affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not imply institutional endorsement. Task Force observers participate in discussions, but are not asked to join the consensus. Task Force Members Bernard W. Aronson Jane Holl Lute ACON Investments Council on CyberSecurity Jodi Hanson Bond Jason Marczak U.S. Chamber of Commerce Atlantic Council Robert C. Bonner Diana Natalicio The Sentinel HS Group, LLC University of Texas at El Paso Jason Eric Bordoff Shannon K. O’Neil Columbia University Council on Foreign Relations Timothy P. Daly Maria Otero Western Union Independent Consulting Jorge I. Dominguez James W. Owens Harvard University Caterpillar Inc. Stephen E. Flynn David H. Petraeus Northeastern University KKR Global Institute Gordon D. Giffin Adrean Scheid Rothkopf McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Millicom Neal R. Goins Clifford M. Sobel Independent Task Force Report No. 71 Exxon Mobil Corporation Valor Capital Group No. 71 Report Force Task Independent Kenneth I. Juster James S. Taylor Warburg Pincus LLC Vianovo David H. Petraeus and Robert B. Zoellick, Chairs Marie-Josée Kravis Robert B. Zoellick Shannon K. O’Neil, Project Director Hudson Institute Goldman Sachs & Co. North America www.cfr.org Time for a New Focus North America Time for a New Focus Independent Task Force Report No. 71 David H. Petraeus and Robert B. Zoellick, Chairs Shannon K. O’Neil, Project Director North America Time for a New Focus The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business execu- tives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR carries out its mission by maintaining a diverse membership, with special programs to promote interest and develop expertise in the next generation of foreign policy leaders; con- vening meetings at its headquarters in New York and in Washington, DC, and other cities where senior government officials, members of Congress, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together with CFR members to discuss and debate major international issues; supporting a Studies Program that fosters independent research, enabling CFR scholars to produce articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze foreign policy issues and make concrete policy recommendations; publishing Foreign Affairs, the preeminent journal on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy; sponsoring Independent Task Forces that produce reports with both findings and policy prescriptions on the most important foreign policy topics; and providing up-to-date information and analysis about world events and American foreign policy on its website, www.cfr.org. The Council on Foreign Relations takes no institutional positions on policy issues and has no affiliation with the U.S. government. All views expressed in its publications and on its website are the sole responsibil- ity of the author or authors. The Council on Foreign Relations sponsors Independent Task Forces to assess issues of current and critical importance to U.S. foreign policy and provide policymakers with concrete judgments and recommendations. Diverse in backgrounds and perspectives, Task Force members aim to reach a meaningful consensus on policy through private and nonpartisan deliberations. Once launched, Task Forces are independent of CFR and solely responsible for the content of their reports. Task Force members are asked to join a consensus signifying that they endorse ‘‘the general policy thrust and judgments reached by the group, though not necessarily every finding and recommendation.’’ Each Task Force member also has the option of putting forward an additional or dissenting view. Members’ affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not imply institutional endorsement. Task Force observers participate in discussions, but are not asked to join the consensus. For further information about CFR or this Task Force, please write to the Council on Foreign Relations, 58 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065, or call the Communications office at 212.434.9888. Visit CFR’s website at www.cfr.org. Copyright © 2014 by the Council on Foreign Relations®, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This report may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form beyond the reproduction permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law Act (17 U.S.C. Sections 107 and 108) and excerpts by reviewers for the public press, without express written permission from the Council on Foreign Relations. This report is printed on paper that is FSC® Chain-of-Custody Certified by a printer who is certified by BM TRADA North America Inc. Task Force Members Task Force members are asked to join a consensus signifying that they endorse “the general policy thrust and judgments reached by the group, though not necessarily every finding and recommendation.” They participate in the Task Force in their individual, not institutional, capacities. Bernard W. Aronson Kenneth I. Juster ACON Investments Warburg Pincus LLC Jodi Hanson Bond Marie-Josée Kravis U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hudson Institute Robert C. Bonner* Jane Holl Lute Sentinel HS Group, LLC Council on CyberSecurity Jason Eric Bordoff* Jason Marczak Columbia University Atlantic Council Timothy P. Daly Diana Natalicio Western Union University of Texas at El Paso Jorge I. Domínguez Shannon K. O’Neil Harvard University Council on Foreign Relations Stephen E. Flynn Maria Otero* Northeastern University Independent Consulting Gordon D. Giffin James W. Owens McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Caterpillar Inc. Neal R. Goins David H. Petraeus Exxon Mobil Corporation KKR Global Institute *The individual has endorsed the report and signed an additional or dissenting view. v vi Task Force Members Adrean Scheid Rothkopf James S. Taylor Millicom Vianovo Clifford M. Sobel Robert B. Zoellick Valor Capital Group Goldman Sachs & Co. This report is dedicated to the memory of Task Force member Robert A. Pastor, a visionary champion of the North American idea, who passed away during the course of this effort. vii Contents Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii Acronyms xv Task Force Report 1 Executive Summary 3 Introduction: The Importance of North America 8 North American Energy Interdependence 15 North American Economic Competitiveness 29 North American Security 42 North American Community 51 Recommendations 62 Conclusion: The New World of North America 82 Additional or Dissenting Views 83 Endnotes 86 Task Force Members 96 Task Force Observers 107 Foreword The United States, Canada, and Mexico are bound by a shared geogra- phy, history, and environment. In the twenty years since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the continent’s three econ- omies and societies have become deeply intertwined, making relations between the United States and its immediate neighbors more important than ever. In 2005, in conjunction with counterpart organizations in Canada and Mexico, the Council on Foreign Relations published Building a North American Community, which proposed the establishment of a North American economic and security community by 2010, the boundaries of which would be defined by a common external tariff and an outer security perimeter. Nearly a decade since the report’s release, its bold vision is still mostly a distant goal. Many of the issues facing North American policymakers in 2005 remain: growing global economic competition, uneven development within North America, and threats to mutual security. New and wel- come trends have also emerged, however: significant increases in energy production in the United States and Canada, an increasingly confident Mexico bolstered by political and economic reforms, and a decline in migration from Mexico to its northern neighbors. This report of the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on North America examines both the long-standing issues facing the region and more recent developments, urging policymakers to elevate and priori- tize the North American relationship. The Task Force’s recommendations focus on four pivotal areas: cap- italizing on North America’s promising energy outlook by removing restrictions on energy exports and increasing investment in infrastruc- ture; bolstering economic competitiveness through the freer movement of goods and services across borders; strengthening security through a unified continental strategy and support for Mexico’s efforts to solidify xi xii Foreword democratic rule of law; and

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